Things just got a little more interesting in the battle for supremacy over digital downloads and streaming media. Netflix has just landed its very first deal to produce and distribute original programming with House of Cards, an upcoming TV series executive produced by David Fincher and Kevin Spacey. The series is based on a book by Michael Dobbs that was previously turned into a BBC mini-series, and the story follows a British politician vying for the Prime Minister’s job as Margaret Thatcher’s tenure comes to an end. Fincher and Spacey’s take will be set in the U.S., however, with Spacey playing the lead role and Fincher directing the pilot episode.

The deal immediately puts Netflix alongside the likes of HBO and AMC, both of whom were reportedly bidding on the project as well. Supposedly they committed to two full seasons (26 episodes), which is basically unheard of for a TV series that could cost approximately $5 million per episode. They’re obviously feeling pressure from all of their competition (ie. Hulu Plus, Amazon, Facebook), and they’re taking a big gamble in order to increase the value of a Netflix subscription.

It’s unclear if the show will eventually be available on DVD as well, but they are definitely pushing this as a show that will initially be available exclusively to streaming subscribers. It is pretty interesting to think that a high profile show like this will only be available to watch on Netflix. If it is successful, it has the potential to really shake up the industry and we could see a lot of quality content skipping TV broadcast entirely. What do you think, is this a smart move and could something like House of Cards convince even more people to subscribe to Netflix?